Folding, portable electric-light-bath cabinet.



0. P. REUTER. FOLDING, PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT BATH CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1913.

1,086,559, Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR l1 TTOIi/VEY 0.. F. REUTER.

FOLDING, PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT BATH CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.5,1913.

1,086,559. Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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WITNESSES: I/VI/E/VTOR LZM/M 7? flat s BY T A TTOR/VEY COLUMBIA PLANOIJRAPH CO.,WASIHNGTON, u C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. REUTER, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

FOLDING, PORTABLE ELECTR-IC-LIGHT-BATH CABINET.

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To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. REUTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding, Portable Electric-Light-Bath Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of electric-light bath cabinets.

The object of my invention is to pro vide a cabinet of this class which is adapted to be folded into small compass and to be readily portable, and to this end my invention consists in the novel folding structural body, the arrangement of its locking device, its lamps and their connections, its adjustable casters and its controllable head opening which I shall hereinafter fully describe, it being understood that within the scope of my said invention, divers changes in form, proportions, connections and details may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying draw ings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of my cabinet showing it unfolded and ready for use. Fig. 2 is a vertical section in a plane parallel with its sides, the sliding-side wall being pushed in beyond said plane and a portion of said side wall being broken away. Fig. 3 is an enlarged, broken detail of one corner of the sliding side-wall of the cabinet, showing its sliding connections with the top and back-walls. Fig. i is a vertical sec tion of the cabinet on the line az-m of Fig. 2, showing the cabinet elevated on its casters. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the cabinet on the line 1 of Fig. 4:, the dotted lines indicating the folded position of the various walls. Fig. 6 is an enlarged top view of the head opening of the cabinet showing the neck-wings open. Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the same showing the neckwings closed. Fig. 8 is a cross section of the head-opening, on line 22 of Fig. 6.

The cabinet is a five sided bottomless structure and is composed of a box-like relatively shallow container side-wall 1, a front or door-wall 2, a back wall 8, a topwall 1 and a sliding side-wall 5. The door- -wall 2 is hinged to the container-wall 1, as

shown at 6 in Figs. 1 and 5, and the backwall 3 is hinged to said container-wall as shown at 3 in Fig. 5. The top-wall 4 is Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 5, 1913.

Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

Serial No. 751,991.

hinged to the container-wall 1, as shown at 7 in Figs. 1 and 1. The sliding side-wall 5 is fitted to the door-wall, the back-wall and the top-wall by any suitable sliding connection which will enable it to move bodily back into the container-wall 1, or forward out of said container-wall. In the present case, for the sake of illustration only, I show in Figs. 2 and 3, the said sliding sidewall 5 as provided with T-shaped studs 8 which slide in corresponding grooves 9 in the said walls.

hen the cabinet is unfolded and is ready for use, the relative position of the walls will be, as shown in Fig. 1. To fold it, the sliding side-wall 5 is first pushed back bodily on its sliding connections until it enters the container-wall 1. Then the doorwall 2 is swung on its hinges 6, into said container-wall and lies against and parallel with the already confined sliding side-wall 5. Then the back-wall 3 is turned inward upon its hinges to lie against the door-wall 2; and, finally, the top-wall 4 is swung down on its hinges 7 to cover the whole, all as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5. In order to unfold the cabinet, the reverse oporation is conducted, until the parts assume the relations shown in Fig. 1. The folding and unfolding being now understood, the necessary and supplemental details will be better appreciated.

On the lower outer face of the back-wall 3 is an angle piece 10Figs. 2 and 5, which forms a keeper, for a bolt 11 of a lock in the top-wall, of which look 12 is the key-hole, as shown in Fig. 1. When, now, the several walls are folded as heretofore described, the lock-bolt 11 is shot into the keeper 10, and by this simple means, all the walls of the structure are securely locked together as a folded unit in small compass and easily transportable.

13 is a flush handle in the door-wall. To enable the cabinet to be easily rolled about to any given place, when it is unfolded, I mount it on casters 15, shown in Fig. 1. These are secured to the container-wall and the sliding side-wall, and they have the following peculiarity: They are arranged to have a vertical movement, so that they may be projected for their function as caste-rs, as shown in Fig. 1, and may be withdrawn to permit the bottomless cabinet to descend to form a close joint with the floor. Any

suitable means may be employed to efiect this adjustment of the casters. F01 illustration T have shown the casters ashaving stems 16 mounted to slide in brackets 17. The upper ends of the stems 16 have heads 18, under which cams 19 play, to lift the casters or to allow them to descend.

Secured to the inner surface of the container-wall l and the sliding side-wall 5 are the electric lamps 20. These are in any number, preferably arranged in a plurality of Yertical, parallel, spaced series. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 5 that the several lamp series of the containenwall are laterally staggered with relation to those of the sliding side-wall, whence it follows that when the sliding side-wall is pushed back into the container wall the lamps will not conflict. The series of lamps are provided with reflectors 2i, and each vertical series of lamps has an individual switch 1% at the top, as seen in Figs. 2, 4: and 5, so that the light and heat can be regulated at will. The opposing series of lamps are electrically con nected by a cord 23, which when toe walls are folded, sags down between them. This cord 23 emerges from within outwardly through the sliding side wall 5 at 22 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and its continuation 2a is pr vided with the usual plug or connection A. general controlling switch 26 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This switch and the cord 2% being carried by the sliding sido wall are therefore concealed and covered in when the cabinet is folded, and this arrangement results in another decided advantage, namely, that the electric connection at 25 must of necessity be broken before the cabinet can be folded, thereby preventing any possibility by oversight of leaving the current on and the lamps burning when the cabinet is not in use.

In the top-wall 4 is made the head-opening 27. This is guarded and controlled by the neck wings 28. These wings are two in number, each consisting of a piece of flexible material, secured to the rim of the head opening along its outer edge, and each provided in its inner edge with a light spring wire 29. These wings are in shape irregular segments, oppositely disposed with relation to each other and one overlapping the other normally. .Vhen so overlapped they close the head opening, but upon pressing them apart, they expose the opening and then automatically under the tension of their spring wires, they close in around the neck of the patient. The wires 29 are formed with spring coils 30 as shown in Figs. 7 and S to enhance their resilient action.

The walls of the cabinet may be formed in any suitable manner and of any suitable material, either simple or composite, that is to say, they may be of skeleton frame worl: covered with suitable sheeting or as here shown, for illustration, they may be simple plates or sheets.

lVhen the cabinet is unfolded and ready for use, the door-wall is swung open, and, for greater convenience of entrance, the topwall may be lifted above the horizontal, its hinges permitting they being, like the door hinges shown in Fig. 5, double-hinges capable of movement in both directions, said topwall double-hinges being indicated in Fig. 4.

I claim l. A cabinet comprising a container sidewall, a door-wall, a back-wall, a top-wall, and a side-wall opposing the container sidewall; a sliding connection between the sidewall and the docrwall, the back-wall and the top-wall adapting said side-wall to be moved bodily back into the container-wall for folded condition and outward therefrom for cabinet use; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the door-wall, adapting the latter to be folded into the containerwall upon the side-wall when the latter is pushed into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the back-wall adapting the latter to be folded into the container-wall upon the door-wall when said door-wall is folded into said container-wall; and a hinge connection bet-ween the container-wall and the top-wall adapting the latter to be folded in upon the back-wall when the latter is folded into the container-wall.

2. A cabinet comprising a container sidewall, a door-wall a back-wall, a top-wall, and a side-wall opposing the container sidewall; a sliding connection between the sidewall and the door-wall, the back-wall and the top-wall adapting said side-wall to be moved bodily back into the container-wall for folded condition and outward therefrom for cabinet use; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the door-wall, adapting the latter to be folded into the containerwall upon the sidewall when the latter is pushed into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the back-wall adapting the latter to be folded into the containerwall upon the doorwall when said door-wall is folded into said contamer-wall; a hinge connection bet-ween the container-wall and the top-wall adapting the latter to be folded in upon the back-wall when the latter is folded into the containerwall; electric lamps carried by the container-wall and the side-wall on their inner surfaces; electrical connections to said lamps, passing in through the sliding side-wall; and a plug carried by said electrical connections exterior to said wall.

3. A cabinet comprising a container sidewall, a door-wall, a back-wall, a top-wall, and a side-wall opposing the container sidewall; a sliding connection between the sidewall and the door-Wall, the back-Wall and the top-wall adapting said side-wall to be moved bodily back into the container-wall for folded condition and outward therefrom for cabinet use; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the doorwall, adapting the latter to be folded into the container-wall upon the side-wall when the latter is pushed into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the containerwall and the back-wall adapting the latter to be folded into the container-wall upon the door-wall when said door-wall is folded into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the top-wall adapting the latter to be folded in upon the back-wall when the latter is folded into the container-wall; a series of electric lamps carried by the container-wall and the side-wall on their inner surfaces, said lamps on one wall being staggered with relation to those on the other wall adapting them for noninterference when the side-wall is pushed into the container-wall; and electrical connections to said lamps. I

4. A cabinet comprising a container side wall, a door-wall, a back-wall, a top-wall, and a side-wall opposing the container sidewall; a sliding connection between the sidewall and the door-wall, the back-wall and the top-wall adapting said side-wall to be moved bodily back into the containerwall for folded condition and outward therefrom for cabinet use; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the door-wall, adapting the latter to be folded into the containerwall upon the side-wall when the latter is pushed into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the container-wall and the back-wall adapting the latter to be folded into the container-wall upon the door-wall when said door-wall is folded into said container-wall; double-hinges connecting the container-wall and the top-wall adapting the latter to be lifted above the horizontal to afford ready access when the cabinet is unfolded and to be folded in upon the backwall when the latter is folded into the container-wall; electric lamps carried by the container-wall and the side-wall on their inner surfaces; electrical connections to said lamps, passing in through the sliding sidewall, and means for locking the top-wall and the back-wall together to hold all the parts in folded relation.

5. A cabinet comprising a container sidewall, a door-wall, a back-wall, a top-wall and a side-wall opposing the container sidewall; a sliding connection between the sidewall and the door-wall, the back-wall and the top-wall adapting said side-wall to be moved bodily back into the container-wall for folded condition and outward therefrom for cabinet use; double-hinges connecting the container-wall and the door-Wall, adapting the latter to be swung outwardly for entrance to the cabinet and to be folded into the container-wall upon the side-wall when the latter is pushed into said container-wall; a hinge connection between the containerwall'and the back-wall adapting the latter to be folded into the container-wall upon the door-wall when said door-wall is folded into said container-wall; and double-hinges connecting the container-wall and the topwall adapting the latter to be lifted above the horizontal to afford ready access when the cabinet is unfolded, and to be folded in upon the back-wall when the latter is folded into the container-wall.

6. In a cabinet of the described class, and in combination with one of its walls provided with a head-o-pening, the segmental oppositely disposed overlapping flexible neck-wings secured to said wall by their outer edges, and having spring wires in their free edges.

7 In a cabinet of the described class, the combination with its bottomless structural body, comprising the container-wall, the sliding opposing side-wall, and the door, back and top walls relatively connected and adapted to fold-as described, one of said walls being provided with a head-opening, of the segmental oppositely disposed overlapping flexible neck-wings secured to said wall by their outer edges, and having spring wires in their free edges.

name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES F. REUTER. Witnesses:

WM. F. Boo'rH,

D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies 01 this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 

